Where Would We Be Now?
by totalizzyness
Summary: This is set in both the Marauders generation and the new generation  Harry, Ron, etc . Protagonist is my OC, Pandora Macmillan. Chapters will be labled as to what era they are set in. Enjoy and please review  :
1. Chapter 1  Marauders Era

**Info:**

This story will be set in both eras; Harry's and the Marauders.

The protagonist is Pandora Macmillan. A Ravenclaw in 5th year. - Brown wavy hair, brown eyes, thin, pale.

Sometimes the story will be focused more on other characters,but it's mainly about Pandora.

I'll label the chapters accordinly so not to confuse you with what is set when.

* * *

**MARAUDERS ERA**

It was a grey Sunday morning at Hogwarts School of Wizardry; and Sirius Black was just waking up. He sat up, stretched and yawned, and cracked his eyes fully open. He shared his dorm room with his three best friends and another boy. In the bed closest to his on the left contained a still sleeping Peter Pettigrew, who was sprawled scruffily across his bed, limbs sticking out at odd angles and the duvet only covering his legs. In the bed to the right of Sirius', a very sleepy James Potter was also just waking up. He and Sirius were like brothers, twin brothers. They often spent detention together, tormented Slytherins together, invented spells together, and one was never seen without the other. They both noticed the other was just waking up and grinned.

"Mornin' Padfoot" James yawned. Sirius nodded.

"Mornin' Prongs"

They both yawned and stretched again. The bed next to James' was empty and very neatly made. That bed belonged to their closest friend Remus Lupin. He'd always been an early riser, and a very neat boy, despite his usual scruffy appearance.

"See Mooney's already up...I bet...Charms homework" Sirius said, finally trying to clamber out of his bed. James grinned.

"You're on, I bet...Arithmancy...3 Galleons?"

"3 Galleons"

They both hurried getting dressed and scampered down to the common room. Remus Lupin was sat at a desk, surrounded by books, parchment and spare quills. The two friends sauntered over casually.

"Whatcha up to there Mooney?" James asked.

"Starting my Arithmancy, just finished Charms, then I've got Transfiguration after this"

James and Sirius sighed.

"Draw?"

"Draw"

"Say Mooney, you don't mind if-"

"-No Sirius you're not copying anything"

"But-"

"-Nope"

Sirius sighed loudly and scratched his head.

"Come on Padfoot, let's go get some breakfast" James said, stretching once again. They were about to exit the Gryffindor common room when Lily Evans walked in. James grinned. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"See you in an hour then James"

James shook his head playfully but turned round; "hey Evans..."

Sirius left the common room by himself and strolled down to the Great Hall. Being a Sunday, most people were rising late, so there were very few people on the corridors. Sirius got to the Great Hall and scanned for people he knew. He spotted a familiar mess of brown hair, belonging to a girl sporting a dark purple velvet blazer. He grabbed three pieces of toast from the Gryffindor table before jogging over to the Ravenclaw table where the girl was sat. He didn't even announce himself; he merely slid down next to her on the bench. She turned to see who had sat next to her and grinned.

"Well Good Morning!"

Sirius grinned and greeted her with a mouth full of toast; "herro"

The girl he sat next to was Pandora Macmillan. A smart Ravenclaw, with long wavy brown hair and brown eyes. She was quite popular as she rarely had a bad word to say against anyone.

"Alone are we?" she asked, pouring herself another glass of orange juice. Sirius nodded and decided to swallow his mouthful of toast before answering this time.

"Yeah, James is harassing Lily"

"Poor girl"

"I dunno, if I were a girl, James would definitely be the kind of bloke I'd date"

"Really? I'm sure if you were a girl you'd happily date yourself"

"No I would-yeah you're right...But rightly so, this face was carved by angels!"

"But your personality was constructed by some arse"

"Was not!"

Pandora giggled and flicked her wand so her apple fell onto her plate neatly in four identical pieces. Sirius rolled his eyes and this seemingly simple task she performed with ease.

"I still can't do that y'know"

He picked up an apple and snatched his wand from his jeans. He did the same as Pandora; however his apple gave a violent shake before combusting. Pandora laughed.

"You're flourishing your wand too much, come here"

She picked out an apple and put her hand over Sirius'. She moved his hand so the wand did the correct spell. The apple fell roughly into four pieces, none were neat or identical. Sirius looked at Pandora with a judging look. Pandora shrugged.

"It's just you; I suppose it's reflection of your personality. See, mine's neat, and perfect. Yours is, well..."

"Crap"

"Your words"

Sirius shrugged and picked up a piece of apple. They both ate their apple in silence. One or two of Pandora's friends kept glancing over, smirking and winking. Everyone was under the impression the two of them were in a secret relationship, and if they weren't, they blatantly had a crush on each other. They weren't in a secret relationship; however, they did have a crush on each other. However, even though the two knew the others feelings, they never bothered with a relationship. Whenever they were pressed on the matter, they just shrugged.

"Up to anything today?" Sirius asked. Pandora shrugged.

"I told Severus we could work on our Potions essay today"

"Ew"

Pandora shook her head; "you know I don't have a problem with him"

"You like Snape, but not Pettigrew"

"Snape's not creepy, he doesn't stare at me all the time, he didn't send me notes saying how nice my hair smelt, and that he'd like to kiss each of my little toes goodnight"

Sirius burst out laughing; "really? He did that!"

"I'd show you proof but I burnt it instantly. But yes, he's creepy like that"

"Wow...I never knew"

"Now you do, is it okay if I hang out with Snape occasionally?"

"...Nope"

She rolled her eyes and clambered out from the table.

"Well, whatever, your boyfriend's back"

Sirius turned round to see who she was insinuating about. James had wandered into the Great Hall and was looking round for Sirius.

"Go to him Sirius, tell him how you feel"

Sirius rolled his eyes and got up; "you, are a freak!"

"You, are gay"

"...I hate you"

She laughed and watched Sirius wander over to James before going to the Slytherin table. Severus Snape was sat at the farthest end of the Slytherin table on his own, reading a book and sipping at a glass of water. Pandora dumped her bag on the table next to him.

"To the library then partner?"

Severus looked up and let out a rare smile; "I hoped you'd come to your senses"

His eyes travelled over to Sirius and James sat at the Gryffindor table and narrowed. Pandora ignored his remark and squeezed his shoulder. He finished his drink, slammed his book shut and tucked it under his arm before grabbing his bag and getting up from the table. They both wandered to the library, talking about what they'd write in the essay. On the way they bumped into Lily Evans.

"Hey Sev, Panda, you two want to go for a walk?"

Snape frowned, knowing he'd have to let her down; "sorry, can't"

Pandora knew about his love for Lily and tried to make the situation better; "we've got an essay see Lily, we can go for a walk after? You can join us in the library, you did the Confusing Concoction last lesson didn't you?"

"Oh yeah! Sure, I'll meet you there, let me go grab Mary, she's my partner in Potions"

"Okay"

Lily hurried off in the direction of the Great Hall. Pandora turned to Severus, he had an obvious look of love about him. He smiled at her.

"Thanks"

They both carried on to the library and sat at a table for four. They unloaded their books and necessary items for the essay then waited for Lily and Mary. Mary and Severus didn't get on well, however, the prospect of spending the afternoon with Lily was enough for Severus to be civil to her.

Later that evening, Pandora had decided to let Severus and Lily walk around the grounds on their own. She wandered round looking for someone to spend time with. She was just going to retreat to the Ravenclaw common room when a voice shouted her name. She smiled and span round; Remus was jogging over to her.

"What you doing?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Nothing, looking for someone to hang out with"

"James and Sirius have run off to annoy Snape"

"Not again"

He shrugged; "there's no stopping them"

"I suppose..."

"Want a game of wizard chess?"

"Sure, why not"

They both went to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Lupin hurried in to grab his chess set before they went to the Great Hall. Pandora's day usually consisted of flitting from one friend to another. Each friend had different characteristics she needed. Each one was very trustworthy; she could tell Sirius things and trust him not to tell anyone, the same for Remus and Severus. Remus was her intellectual equal; they'd often do things together their other friends wouldn't enjoy, such as chess, studying, debating, etc. Sirius was her fun friend, they both goofed off and made fun out of mundane activities. Severus was the creative friend. He was intelligent like Remus but he preferred to work alone, however, he had a passion for art; poetry, literature, music. He and Pandora would discuss their latest reads, poems they'd written, and their emotions. Pandora was the only person in the world Severus had told of his love for Lily. Severus was the only person Pandora confided in with deep feelings; nothing near what she'd tell Remus and Sirius. And Lily was her only female friend. The two of them would talk about normal girl things. Unfortunately, like most kids, she couldn't spend time with all her friends at once. Sirius and Severus hated each other; Severus also hated Remus however Remus didn't have any reason to dislike Severus; Lily didn't mind Sirius, but he and James were too arrogant for her liking. So all in all, she could only spend time with one or two friends at once; Remus & Sirius, Remus & Lily, Lily & Snape. They were the only combinations that worked.

Remus and Pandora played several games of chess before dinner-time arrived. She stayed put at the Gryffindor table. Sirius sat on the right of Pandora, James on the left of Remus, and Pettigrew on the left of him. Lily came over too, and sat on Remus' right.

Pandora often wished to have been placed in Gryffindor as that was where the majority of her friends were. Despite Ravenclaw fitting her personality perfectly, she felt a little ostracised from the people in her house. They spent most of their time focused on looks and popularity, the two things Pandora valued least of all. However, she was at least grateful she had a group of friends whom she was very close to.


	2. Chapter 2  Marauders Era

**MARAUDERS ERA**

The next Monday the Ravenclaws had Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. Sirius Black and James Potter sat at the back left table together, Pandora Macmillan and Remus Lupin sat in front of them. They each took out there books and talked until Professor McGonagall called the class to order. Sirius and James discussed what to have for dinner, Pandora and Remus discussed how successful they'd been practising "Duro".

"I managed to turn a chair into stone in the common room, but couldn't turn it back. The Head Boy had to turn it back for me" Pandora said. Remus nodded, interested in her findings.

"I turned some fruit into stone; I couldn't turn them back either, but the House Elves just brought up some more fruit"

Sirius Black leant forward to join the conversation; "I tried to turn Pettigrews rat into stone, but I only managed to turn its tail and arse into stone. It had a hell of a time walking. McGonagall had to turn it back, and took 10 points off Gryffindor for 'bewitching other's property' ...At least I tried! Better than James did"

Pandora nodded; "what did James do?"

"Sod all" James grinned.

"Silence please!" McGonagall said calmly at the front of the class. Everyone turned to the front. "As I told you last lesson, we'll be practising turning objects into stone, and how to reverse the effects"

She talked about the spell and what it was useful for before conjuring up an array of mundane items in front of each student. Pandora got a pair of slippers; Remus got a couple of glass bottles. After several attempts both Pandora and Remus had managed to turn their objects into stone. McGonagall wandered round the classroom analysing everyone's work.

"Good work you two; five points each, now try and reverse it"

McGonagall went to look at Sirius and James' work.

"Come on you two"

"Actually Professor, I'm half there" Sirius said. Pandora turned round. Sirius grabbed the teddy he'd been given round the waist and tried to pick it up. He struggled; he managed to hoist it just over a centimetre above the desk before dropping it with a muffled bang.

"So you've managed to turn the stuffing into stone have you Mr Black? Keep trying, you're nearly there. What about you Potter? How far have you gotten?"

James held up his bowler hat; "no luck yet Professor"

He put it down on the desk and attempted the spell again. Just before McGonagall turned away the hat turned into stone.

"Finally, well done Potter, five points to you too, now turn it back"

"You're usually really good at Transfiguration" Sirius said, still trying to turn his teddy into stone. James shrugged.

"Didn't practise did I! These two nerds got it because they practised"

Remus shook his head;"you're only calling me a nerd because I transformed it before you"

"Nah"

James flicked his wand and the stone hat turned back into its original material.

"Hay! Look at that!" he exclaimed with a huge grin. McGonagall turned round and smiled.

"Well dome, another five points"

James grinned smugly at Pandora and Remus.

After lesson Pandora went to the entrance of the Great Hall to meet Severus so they could walk to Potions together. On the way down to the dungeons Sirius and James jogged past, bumping purposely into Severus, making his books spill all over the floor.

"See-ya later Macmillan!" Sirius shouted as they jogged on. Pandora sighed loudly and bent down next to Snape to help him pick up his books. Snape was muttering under his breath about how he hated the Gryffindors.

"Sorry Severus"

He shook his head; "it's not your fault. I swear one day I'm going to hex them to the other side of the world and back"

He looked up to see Pandora looking analytically at him.

"...Sorry"

She shook her head and helped him up; "I suppose they don't really deserve anything more, but, I don't know..."

They said nothing more on the matter and carried on to Potions. They walked into the classroom silently and took their seats whilst Professor Slughorn grinned at his class.

"Now my dear Ravenclaws and Slytherins, please take out your essays, and we can get right into our next potion"

Severus and Pandora took out their essays, potion books and ingredients. Slughorn grinned at the two of them as he walked past to collect their essays.

"Page thirty-seven, off you go"

The two of them began instantly. They worked in silence for the majority of the lesson. Only when their potions were simmering did they say something.

"You hanging out with Lily at lunch?"

Severus nodded; "she wants me to help her with her Dark Arts homework"

"Ah, I'll see what Loopy's up to then"

"You can join us if you want, I don't mind, you don't have to spend your lunch break in the company of those pathetic people"

"Severus please! I know you don't like them, but 1, they're my friends, and 2, Remus isn't anything like Sirius or James, give him a break"

"But, he's not as you think! He's, he's dangerous!"

Pandora glared; "I know he's a werewolf" she hissed; "and it doesn't bother me! He's one of the kindest and gentlest boys I've ever had the pleasure of knowing! Why would you hold such a horrible view of him because of something he has no control over?"

Severus looked down and said nothing. Pandora sighed and got a head start on her essay. They sat in a tense silence for the rest of the lesson. When the bell rang for dinner Pandora jumped up, slung her bag over her shoulder and nearly ran out of the classroom, leaving Snape stood at their desk looking and feeling guilty. Suddenly a large hand clapped down on his shoulder. It was Slughorn

"A word young Snape. Yours and Macmillan's were the first essays I marked. Brilliant, as usual. There's no hiding the talent for potion making you two have. I was wondering if you could return her essay, and inform her of the slug-club get-together I'm holding tonight"

Severus forced a weak smile onto his face; "of course Professor"

"Tonight at eight o'clock okay? Here in the classroom"

"Yes, of course"

Slughorn handed him the two essays and smiled broadly as Snape scurried out of the classroom. He met Lily at the entrance to the Great Hall and they went in. He noticed Pandora sat at the Gryffindor table, chatting merrily with Remus, Sirius and James. When he looked away he was met directly with Lily's green eyes. He felt his stomach do somersaults; the one thing he loved most about Lily were her eyes. At this moment they looked concerned.

"Are you okay?"

He snapped back to reality; "yeah, uh, fine"

"Something happened with Panda?"

"Uh, I kinda got under her skin talking about Lupin"

She took hold of his arm and pulled him to the far end of the Gryffindor table; "what did you say?"

He shrugged; "well-"

"-You didn't mention his...Condition did you?"

He hung his head; "...Yeah"

"Oh Severus"

He sighed; "I know..."

She squeezed his shoulder affectionately; "she'll come round, just give her time to cool off"

"Ok"

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table Sirius was calling Severus every name under the sun.

"Seriously! What a slimy, big-nosed, arrogant, evil little git! How dare he say that! HE'S the dangerous one! And he has no excuse! If I ever-"

"-Please, Sirius, calm down, you're attracting attention" Pandora said, comforting Remus who had his head in hands, partly from shame of his being a werewolf, and partly because of the embarrassment of Sirius' shouting. Sirius sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, sorry..."

"Surely after that you can't be friends with him any more" James said, waving a fork of spaghetti about. Pandora shrugged.

"I don't know, if he apologises not only to me, but to Remus too, I'll forgive him"

"WHAT?" Sirius and James shouted. Remus looked up.

"I know he didn't mean it really, and he thinks he's looking out for me, even if he's going about it all the wrong way, and I can never stay mad at him. He's just so, sort of, helpless, he gets so hassle, for no reason!"

She looked directly at James and Sirius as she said the last thing. They both shrugged.

"If he wasn't such a greasy git-"

"-And so evil-"

"-Then we probably wouldn't hassle him so much"

"Oh come off it guys, you hex Slytherins for fun, prank first-years whenever you've not got anything to do; I have to say you're prime examples of bullies" Remus said; leaving them both wide-mouthed. Pandora looked at him, wide-eyed.

"...Remus..."

He sighed and dropped his fork onto his plate and got up to leave the Hall. James & Sirius were still stunned by his outburst. Pandora jumped up and ran after him. She caught up with him as he stormed down the steps to the courtyard.

"Remus! Wait up!"

"I just want to be alone Panda, please"

She grabbed his shoulders and stopped him; "I know you don't want to be alone Remus, come on"

He took a deep breath and nodded. Pandora smiled and gave him a warm hug. Remus smiled and returned the hug. They embraced until Pandora was satisfied that Remus was calm.

"Now come on Loopy, let's go do homework!"

He laughed and offered his arm. She took it, they walked down to the lake. It was a grey day, and the ground was damp, so Remus conjured up a blanket for them to sit on. They got out their books, ready to do homework, but instead sat talking.

"I just wish they weren't so horrible sometimes. I mean, they're the best friends ever, but, they just don't treat people right sometimes"

"I totally agree...It's the same with Sev. He's the loveliest person in the world sometimes, but, he just doesn't understand that to get people to be nice to him he needs to be nice to them. He's just a little, quirky? You know, he doesn't have the best social skills; I don't think he fully understands how society works"

"Yeah...I try to be nice to him, but, me being friends with James & Sirius doesn't help matters. And five years down the line I think it's a little late now for me to befriend him"

"I've told him to give you a chance, he can hate those two if he wants, but really he has no reason to hate you"

"Then again, a man is known by the company he keeps"

"...Not always, AND, I know James and Sirius to be lovely people too, when they want to be. And also, opposites attract"

"Ahh, you win"

They laughed and looked around. Remus looked at the open books around them.

"Well, so much for doing homework"

"We can do it later, I think we both needed this talk"

"Yeah, I feel much calmer now. I'm so glad I've got someone I can pour my heart out to"

Pandora grinned and threw her arms round him; "me too"

Remus hugged her back just as tightly. Out of range of her sight, Remus had a look on his face similar to that Severus wore around Lily. Pandora pulled away and held onto his shoulders.

"You're such a great friend, probably the best I have

Remus' face dropped before quickly forcing a smile to please her; "uh yeah, you're a great friend too"


	3. Chapter 3 New Generation

**NEW GENERATION**

Sirius Black and Alastor Moody were sat in the kitchen of 12 Grimauld Place discussing Lord Voldemorts infiltration of the Ministry of Magic when Remus Lupin wandered in with the day's issue of the Daily Prophet. There had been a full moon three days ago, and Remus was adorning several new scars on his face. He'd strategically placed some of his floppy brown hair around his features to cover some as best he could. Everyone in the Order knew of his condition, and he wasn't exactly ashamed of it, however he didn't like how it affected him physically and aesthetically. Every month he got new scratches on his body; he looked, and was absolutely exhausted. His boyish good looks were usually hidden by his tired and scratched face.

"Any news?" Sirius asked, looking up. Remus shook his head.

"Not unless you're interested in a brand new candy at Honeyduckes"

He tossed the paper onto the table and sat opposite Sirius and Alastor. Sirius sighed.

"I wish I could help"

Remus smiled sympathetically; "you are helping, more than you think"

"I've provided headquarters, and...That's it"

Alastor shook his head; "your time will come Sirius, don't worry"

An awkward silence fell over the room. Remus went to say something when there was a crash outside the door, a woman cursing before stumbling through the door. The woman was Nymphadora Tonks; a young witch in her early twenties who had joined the Order as soon as she had the chance. She was a gifted witch, a Metamorphmagus, and very clumsy.

"Seriously, what a stupid place to pile brooms and mops, and in a hallway that narrow too! Tssk!"

Sirius smiled; "I agree, I keep knocking them over too"

"Anyway, check this out, The Weird Sisters have a couple of new songs out" she said waving a magazine about. Alastor sighed and got up, he had no interest in such things as whether a band had songs out. Lupin and Sirius nodded, pretending to be interested.

"They didn't really have any ideas for songs, they were drying up a bit, then Myron - the lead singer - went through what he described as a tragic break-up and couldn't stop writing songs"

"How unfortunate" Sirius lied. Tonks shrugged.

"Not really, they may have enough songs for a new album! I can't wait! ...I guess I do feel sorry for him, he loved her, she decided she didn't want the rock stars wife lifestyle and had fallen out of love with him, so, upped and left. Just left him a note, didn't even say goodbye in person!"

"Probably easier that way. If she did it in person he'd probably persuade her to stay" Remus said.

"I suppose, here, listen to this; 'lead singer Myron Wagtail admitted complete heart-break after his long-time girlfriend Pandora Macmillan left him this Wednesday just gone-"

"-Wait, what was that name again?" Sirius almost shouted. He'd nearly jumped out of his chair, as had Remus. Tonks looked at them both as if they were insane.

"Uh, Pandora Macmillan. There's a picture of her here too"

She tossed the magazine onto the table in front of them. They both scrambled to look at it. Their eyes widened and took in a deep breath.

"Do you know her or something?" Tonks asked, feeling left out of the situation.

"I can't believe it's her! She just dropped off the planet not long after we left Hogwarts" Remus said to Sirius. He nodded.

"I know! She looks exactly the same"

"I'd completely forgotten she existed! I feel quite bad"

Sirius chuckled; "do you think she remembers us?"

"Probably, what with your face slapped on every post and door, and I'm sure I was slammed in the Daily Prophet...Not that she was a big fan of that"

"Uh guys! Are you going to answer my question?" Tonks interrupted. They both looked up.

"Sorry, we were a little distracted, what did you ask?"

"No point in even asking, I'm assuming you know her"

"She was one of our best friends at school, such a lovely girl"

"Yeah, you've heard us talk about Lily Potter haven't you" Sirius said. Tonks nodded.

"She was pretty much a Ravenclaw version of Lily, only, not as nicey-nice as Lily.

Lupin nodded; "Lily was unconditionally nice, Panda was more, unbelievably nice to people she liked and got on with, but could be as evil as anything if she wanted to be. Lily never had that side to her"

"Ah, cool. Do you think she'd join the Order?"

Remus and Sirius looked at each other.

"Wow I hope she would! It'd be amazing to see her again!" Sirius sighed.

"There's got to be some documentation of her at the Ministry, do you want me to go check her out? See if I can find her?"

Remus' and Sirius' face lit up.

"Would you?"

"Oh please Tonks, you're the best!"

Tonks grinned; "I'll get right on it"

She ran out of the kitchen, tripping over the already floored brooms and mops. Remus and Sirius looked at each other.

"I can't believe she's been out there all this time, why did she never keep in contact?" Sirius asked. Lupin nodded.

"I suppose she had her reasons..."

That evening as Molly Weasley cooked dinner, Sirius and Remus showed the Weasley children old pictures and evidence of their friendship with Pandora Macmillan.

"She looks pretty cool, and she dated the singer from The Weird Sisters?" Fred asked. Sirius nodded.

"Apparently so. If only I'd been as interested in that band as Tonks was, I'd have been able to contact her already" he sighed, feeling as though he'd failed her.

"Well, Tonks has gone getting her now hasn't she? You'll see her soon enough" Ginny said, in attempt to cheer him up. Just then a large black man, named Kingsley Shacklebolt, entered the kitchen.

"Greetings everyone, Sirius, Remus, Nymphadora asked me to forward this note"

He handed them a note written on Ministry stationary. Sirius tore it open eagerly. The note read.

"Found her, she's living abroad. I've tried contacting her, waiting for a response, will update you accordingly. Ps. I'm so happy for you two!"

"So? So? So?" George asked.

"She's found her, waiting on a reply" Lupin said happily. Everyone congratulated them.

"I can't believe this is happening, I could never imagine losing contact with say, Hermione, it'd just be so weird!" Ron said. Sirius nodded.

"Imagine losing contact with her when you leave Hogwarts, you know her well now, but in two more years, your bond will be even stronger, it'll tear you apart even more"

Ron looked at him, a look of fear on his face; "I can't imagine that, it'd be so...Horrible!"

"It was. It was especially worse for Lupin"

The children's gaze all went to Remus; he looked back, disliking the sudden attention.

"Why?" asked Fred.

"He'd fallen in love with her"

"Aww!" Ginny squealed. Remus rolled his eyes.

"I mean, I fancied her, but Remus had formed a real bond with her, then she just disappeared"

"Were you two dating or anything?" Ginny asked.

Remus sighed; "not really. She'd admitted she loved me, but just couldn't take the leap from friend to partner"

"Aww! I feel so sorry for you"

Remus shrugged; "don't, it was eighteen years ago"

"But, won't seeing her again bring back feelings?" Ron asked. Ginny hit his arm.

"Isn't it obvious they're back already"

Remus shook his head and got up from the table; "I'm uh, going for some air"

He quietly exited the kitchen. Everyone looked at each other, silently and awkwardly.

"Poor Lupin, it'd kill me if the one I loved left with no word after telling me they loved me" Ginny sighed.

"Don't feel sorry for him, the last thing he wants is pity" Sirius said.

Tonks arrived just in time for dinner. She entered the kitchen with a thin folder tucked under her arm. She hung her leather trench-coat on the back of her chair and took her place in-between Ginny and Ron. She passed Sirius the folder.

"Still waiting for a response, then again, it'd be amazing if she replied from Poland in such a short space of time-"

"-She's living in Poland?" Ron asked. Tonks looked round at all the astonished faces at the table.

"...I see you've told everyone about her. Yeah, she's in Poland, but, I found some pictures of her from over the years, they're all dated, so, here's your treat"

Sirius went to open it but paused; "...After dinner"

Molly smiled; "well, you'd better tuck in, there's a lot to eat here"

Every dug into the feast Mrs Weasley had prepared, and made conversation about anything but Pandora. Sirius waited until all the plates were cleared from the table before untying the string holding the folder shut. A surprising amount of pictures fell onto the table. Sirius gathered them up and shared one at once with Remus before they were passed round the table.

"This is dated a year after the Potters' death, has she got red hair?" Sirius asked.

"She was always envious of Lily's hair, she hated her brown hair"

"She looks awesome"

"Look at this one, there, in the corner"

"Is that the stuffed unicorn I got her that Christmas?"

"Looks like it. This picture's quite recent too"

Sirius and Remus analysed every picture before passing it on to the person next to them. In half an hour everyone around the table had seen the old friend of theirs age in the eighteen years of being away.

"I see what you saw in her Lupin, she's quite pretty" Ginny smiled. Remus smiled too.

"She's much prettier in person"

"I very much want to meet her, from what you've said of her she sounds lovely" Molly said smiling, looking at a picture of her from five years ago.

"Oh she was perfect in every way to us Molly, the only downside was her, other best friend" Sirius said, a look of disgust on her face.

"And her other friend was?" Ron asked.

"Do we know him too?" Fred asked.

"Oh you know him quite well" Sirius said.

"Who?"

"Yeah who?" George asked.

"Severus Snape" Remus answered. The faces of the children fell, all were horrified. Even Tonks was horrified. The room was silent for a few minutes.

"...She was friends"

"With Snape?"

"Professor Snape?" the twins asked. Sirius nodded.

"The same, greasy haired, hook nosed, ugly git that you know"

Remus and the other adults shook their heads.

"Eurgh!" Ron said, looking as though he would gag any second.

"Why was she HIS friend?" Fred asked.

"Because he wasn't actually as bad as he seems. They got on; they had a connection like I had with her and Sirius had with her. Not many people liked him because no one really understood him. Pandora was one of the few who understood him" Remus explained.

"Just because none of you like him doesn't mean he isn't human, he has feelings! And clearly some people aren't as shallow as you lot are, I thought I raised you better than this!" Molly scolded. The Weasley children pulled a face.

"He's still a git, he's got it in for everyone" Ron said.

"That is true Molly, he doesn't seem very pleasant" Arthur said calmly. Molly sighed.

"Well, I won't be here to listen to any more name-calling"

And with that she excused herself from the room.


	4. Chapter 4  Marauders Era

**MARAUDERS ERA**

Severus Snape was hurrying up the corridors to the library. It was a sunny April afternoon, and Severus was in need of comforting after arguing with Lily Evans about his friends. He got to the library and looked round the bookcases for Pandora Macmillan. He found her in the section for Transfiguration with Remus Lupin. He hurried over.

"Can I speak to you?"

She looked at Remus for advice before nodding; "uh, sure"

She followed Severus and few feet away.

"So, what's wrong?"

"I've just had an argument with Lily"

"Again? What happened?"

"She doesn't like me hanging out with Avery and Mulciber"

"To be honest Severus, neither do I, but I'm not about to lecture you on what company you may keep"

Snape sighed; "what's wrong with them?"

"They're just, horrible, can you not see why Lily detests them? They're anti-muggle-borns. They want to wipe them all out...Lily, is a muggle-born! You've befriended people who essentially want her dead!"

"Well, yeah, I know, but-"

"-There's no but Severus, try and put yourself in her shoes, she'll never like your friends. And your fascination with the Dark Arts worries her; she doesn't want you to turn into one of them. You're a good person, but your past makes you susceptible to being brainwashed by these people. Neither Lily or I want you to turn into one of these sorry excuses for a wizard!"

"You think I'll easily be brainwashed? You don't think I'm strong enough?"

"I think, with your personal life being how it is, the prospect of being part of a gang, of fitting in will appeal a lot to you, and you're naturally interested in the Dark Arts, I know you're not particularly fond of Muggles, it all fits, you'll become one of them, I swear you will"

"I won't! I'm not like those people!"

He sighed and left the library, feeling even more frustrated. Usually Pandora was on his side, even if he knew she wasn't. She'd make him feel better about his argument and give him advice on how to make it better, but for some reason she'd done no such thing today. He hurried down to the dungeons, to the Slytherin common room to mull things over on his own.

Pandora sat back down with Lupin.

"What was that about?"

"Another argument with Lily about his friends"

"What did you say?"

"That Lily's right, his friends are vile"

"Hmm, he's changed recently"

"I think he's just desperate to fit in somewhere..."

"I guess..."

"If he continues he's going to lose her, and it's going to kill him"

"Yeah...Uh, anyway, back to Transfiguration?"

"Indeed"

Pandora got straight to work, Remus discretely watched her out of the corner of his eye. She stroked and twisted her brown hair whilst she read; her brown eyes stared intently at the words on the pages in front of her; she'd occasionally roll up and unroll her sleeves; and Remus couldn't take his eyes off her. His feelings towards her had suddenly gotten very strong since school started in September, and he relished any opportunity to spend time with her. He finally tore himself away from her long enough to look at the words she was reading aloud. They continued their homework for a while longer when Sirius Black found them.

"Remus! Panda! My two most favourite people in the whole wide-"

"-We're not doing your homework" Remus said before Sirius could finish his sentence. Sirius sighed loudly.

"But, I'm really, REALLY stuck, could you at least help me with it?"

"What is it and when's it in for?"

"Charms, tomorrow"

Remus sighed; "sorry, I'm swamped myself, if you'd come to me yesterday I could have helped you"

"What about you Macmillan? Fancy giving me a bit of private tutoring?"

He winked and smirked seductively. Though impervious to his charm, Pandora laughed.

"Oh I don't know Black; I don't think you're deserving enough for my undivided attention"

"Oh c'mon! If you do I'll buy you a present"

"What?"

"I don't know, something pretty"

Pandora seemed to be contemplating it.

"Don't let him buy you Panda" Remus said, holding onto her arm. She laughed.

"He can't buy me Remus, not for all the money in the world, but I'll help you, BUT, you have to do something for me"

"What? Anything! I promise!" Sirius said hopefully.

"You have to go with Penelope to the end of year ball"

"Oh what? Why?"

"Because I said I'd get her a date"

"But she's so...Plain! And boring!"

"So? Like you had a date set in mind!"

"I did actually!"

"Who?"

"Uh...You!"

"Well, you'd have been out of luck, I'm going with Remus"

"You are?" both Sirius and Remus asked. Pandora sighed.

"Thank you Lupin for playing along"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't catch on"

"Clearly"

"So you are free, huh?" Sirius asked, sliding along the desk closer to Pandora, propping his leg up on her chair. Pandora shook her head.

"Remus, want to go to the Ball with me?"

"Um, yeah"

"Sorry Sirius, I've got a date"

Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes; "Thanks Moony! Now I've got to go with Jones!"

"Oh no, the horror" Remus said sarcastically, looking back down at his work.

"Anyway, library after dinner?" Sirius asked. Pandora nodded.

"See you there"

Sirius ruffled her hair before jogging out of the library. Pandora looked at Remus.

"You don't have to go with me if you don't want, I mean, if you already had someone in mind to go with..."

"Oh no, it's all right, I was going to ask you anyway"

"Really? How come?"

"Because, why not? I don't really know any other girls, and, I'd rather go with you, we'll have a good time. Even if it is scheduled for a few days after, well, you know"

"I'm sure you'll look lovely Remus. I'll be proud to go with you"

Even if he wanted to Remus couldn't hide the massive grin that spread across his face. Pandora smiled.

"Aww, you're blushing, come here you!"

She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. Remus' grin got even bigger. He rest his head on her shoulder, discretely inhaling her scent. She suddenly began fingering the ends of his hair.

"It's so soft! I could stroke you all day!"

Remus laughed nervously and pulled away.

"Anyway, sorry about that, back to work?"

"Back to work"

They both awkwardly carried on with their Transfiguration.

That evening after dinner, instead of going to the library Sirius and Pandora went down to the lake to work. Pandora got out their books and essentials for Sirius' homework as he stood on the bank skimming stones across the water.

"Sirius, I said I'd help you not do it for you"

"Ok ok, I'm coming"

He went and sat opposite her, pulling his books onto his knee. Whilst she read aloud what he was supposed to do he ran his hands through his sleek black hair trying to catch her attention.

"Pay attention Sirius or I'll purposely give you wrong information"

"Right, fine, but just a minute, I'm boiling"

He pushed his books onto the grass and undid the buttons on his shirt before pulling it off. For a fifteen year old his body was very fit and would easily make any girl stop midsentence, as it did with Pandora. She found herself staring at his upper torso, mouth slightly open.

"Like what you see Macmillan? Wanna touch?" Sirius said flirtily. Pandora shook her head.

"Stop it Sirius, c'mon, work"

He sighed as his attempts to put her off weren't working as well as he'd hoped. For half an hour they worked harmoniously, getting quite a bit of work done. As he worked he moved round so he was next to Pandora instead of opposite. She began reading a passage from their book aloud, as she did Sirius began stroking the feather end of his quill up and down her leg, occasionally making her shiver.

"Ok Sirius stop! I'm not here for you to, find pleasure from! Do your work, please"

Sirius nodded in defeat and spent the rest of their time doing the work. With him completely focused on the task at hand it got done rather quickly.

"I've done all my work like a good boy, can I play now?" Sirius pleaded like a young child, pouting innocently. Pandora laughed.

"Go ahead"

"Brilliant, come on"

He jumped up and offered out his hand. She took it reluctantly, and as soon as he heaved her up from the ground she instantly regretted doing so. He threw her over his shoulder with ease as she wasn't a large girl, and made for the lake.

"No! Sirius don't you dare! I'll kill you! Mark my words!"

"What? I can't hear you! Go on Sirius, dare you?"

"No! Don't even think about throwing me in-"

She finished her sentence with a scream as Sirius plunged into the lake with her still on his shoulder. They both emerged from under the water, Sirius sporting a huge grin, Pandora struggling for breath through shock, anger and the water that had flooded into her mouth.

"Sirius Black, you are history!" she shouted. He grinned.

"Got to catch me first!"

He waded as quickly as he could further into the lake. Pandora found it difficult to keep up; her being such a small-framed girl was almost overpowered by the weight of the water.

"This is not fair! You're stronger than I am! This is easy to you!"

"Okay, I'll be nice and let you catch me, as long as you promise to not, actually kill me"

She laughed; "like I'd kill you, just, drown you a little"

He laughed and stopped. She finally managed to get over to him. She grabbed his shoulders and forced herself onto him, trying to force him into the water. He grinned and let her push him down into the water; although instead of being submerged, just floated on the top. She toppled on top of him; the two of them laughed and floated together.

"I'm all wet now" Pandora sighed.

"There there, I know a spell for insta-dry"

"Yay, aren't I lucky"

"Hey, any girl would die of envy if she saw you swimming with me now"

"Sure, if you say so"

They both frolicked in the water for a while, splashing each other, taking it in turns to try and drown the other. At one point Sirius tried to find the Giant Squid, but it wasn't at that end of the lake that evening. As the sun hung just above the horizon they decided to call it a day and go back to the castle. They waded out of the lake and back onto land. Sirius grabbed Pandora's arm and pulled her into a tight hug. She laughed and hugged him back, secretly quite pleased to be embracing his wet naked upper torso. She refused to admit it as she thought his ego was big enough already, but she thought he did have a nice body, especially for someone his age. When they pulled apart Sirius' grin got bigger.

"I can see through your shirt!" he sang. Pandora looked down and quickly covered her chest.

"You slimy git"

He laughed; "sorry, but, nice bra"

She hit his chest; she went to turn round and grab their wands but Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her into him, holding her tightly in his arms. She looked at him, quite baffled by his sudden move. His smirk went from playful to seductive.

"So, sure you don't want to go to the Ball with me?"

She nodded; "I'm happy going with Remus"

"Hmm...One hundred percent sure?"

"Umm-yup"

"Right..."

He leant closer and softly, pressed his lips to her. Pandora wasn't shocked at all by this sudden movement, and in fact slid her arms up round his neck as he tightened his grip round her waist. They stood kissing for a few minutes before pulling away, suddenly realising the severity of their actions.

"...That shouldn't have happened" Sirius said. Pandora nodded, covering her chest again.

"Um, I don't think we should tell anyone"

"I agree, c'mon, let's get back to the castle"

As they both got dry and collected their things, Remus Lupin who'd seen nearly everything fled from the bushes he was watching from back up to the castle. His chest hurt more than he'd ever felt; though most likely from the sudden surge of exercise combined with shock and the urge to cry, he believed it was his heart breaking. He ran straight past James who called after him, straight up to the Gryffindor common room and flung himself onto his bed, smothering his head with his pillow to muffle the sound of him sobbing.


	5. Chapter 5  Marauders Era

**MARAUDERS ERA**

That night both Sirius and Pandora went to bed, their heads full of thoughts. Two beds away from Sirius' Remus was also lay awake, pillow still over his head. He was most annoyed with himself. He couldn't be angry with Pandora, she didn't know how he felt, and even if she did she didn't owe him any fidelity. He couldn't be angry with Sirius, he didn't know how he felt either. The only person he could really blame was himself. He sighed loudly and decided to just go to sleep. He rolled over and pulled the covers over himself. Sirius noticed the movement.

"Moony, you awake?"

Remus pretended to be asleep. Sirius sighed and decided to go to sleep too.

The next morning Pandora ran down to the Great Hall. Lupin was sat at the Gryffindor table looking depressed. Lily was sat opposite, Pandora went over.

"Hi Remus"

Remus nodded, not even looking up.

"Uh...Lily, can I talk to you?"

Lily nodded, picked up her things and an apple and followed her out of the Hall.

"What's up Panda? ...If it's about Sev I don't want to know"

"No, I know better than to interfere...I have my own boy problems"

"Oh okay, what's wrong?"

"I did something bad last night, and I need impartial advice I can trust"

"Oh dear...Go on, what's up?"

"Well last night, I was helping Sirius with his homework, then we went for a swim...And we kissed, well, he kissed me, then I kissed him back, and now I feel awful"

Lily was stood wide-eyed; "you kissed him? Do you even, y'know, fancy him?"

"I don't think so...Well, I sort of fancy him, but I think it's mainly a physical attraction. I mean, he's a nice guy, but, I dunno, I know him too well to find him attractive..."

"Well, if you 'sort of' like him, why not just, go out with him?"

"Because...I sort of fancy Remus more"

"Remus?"

"Yes, he's so lovely, and cute and...Why do I like him? Oh God I hope he doesn't find out about Sirius and I"

Lily nodded; "well, why not tell Remus how you feel?"

"Because...I doubt he'd take it well. We're just good friends. I don't want to ruin it with my stupid feelings"

"I suppose...You really are in quite a pickle...Do you know how Sirius feels?"

"We sort of have a mutual attraction I think...Everyone tells me he fancies me, but they also tell him I fancy him...But we both sort of agreed it shouldn't have happened"

"Well...I guess that's sorted then...Do you want me to meddle with Remus?"

"Oh would you?"

Lily smiled; "sure"

"Oh thank you"

"I seriously hope everything works out with you"

"Same...Can I talk to you about Severus"

"Oh dear, what?"

"Uh, what exactly started the argument yesterday?"

"He just kept talking about those vile friends of his, I couldn't stand hearing him talk about their beliefs and doings as if there's no problem with it"

Pandora nodded; "yeah, he came to me looking for sympathy, he said he'll never turn out like them, he doesn't actually agree with their beliefs..."

"I wish I could believe him"

"Same; you can just tell he's going to be one of them"

"...It's really upsetting. He was my first real friend, and I bet he's ultimately going to be the one to get me killed"

"No, he wouldn't. One, even if he did turn into one of them, he'd never want you to die, and two, you're a brilliant witch, you'd be able to fight them off"

"I'm not sure, you've seen how good they are at the Dark Arts, I mean, they invented nearly all of them..."

"I think...Lily, the best thing is to just not think about it. Watch Severus carefully, and just carry on, I'll always be here for you"

Lily smiled; "thank you"

They both gave each other a tight hug; just in time for the bell to go first lesson.

"Charms" Lily said.

"History of Magic, ugh, the fun"

Lily laughed. They both wandered up to their lessons.

Lily sat next to Remus in Charms. She'd noticed he was looking particularly glum. He was the first one in the class, his books were next to him and his head was dropped in his folded arms.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lily asked sidling into her seat next to him. He mumbled something, then after realising she couldn't hear, nodded his head. She looked at him sceptically and unpacked her bag.

"Seriously Remus, what's wrong?"

He sighed loudly and lifted his head.

"Nothing"

She continued looking at him sceptically, he sighed again.

"Fine, I'll tell you later"

Just then James and Sirius jumped into the seats next to him.

"Y'all right Moony? You were pretty intense last night!" James said.

"Intense? What sort of intense?" Sirius asked. James shrugged.

"He was just, running, for his life! Straight past me up to the tower"

"What's up Moony? You look pretty off now"

Remus looked down; "nothing" he mumbled. Throughout the lesson, Remus had to listen to Sirius lying about how his study-session with Pandora went.

"We just did our homework then went for a swim really. Tried to get the squid but he'd buggered off, so, I settled with trying to drown her myself"

James laughed; "tried to drown her? I'm guessing she won then?"

"No actually, it was more a draw really..."

"Who gave first?"

"She did"

"Oh really..."

"Really! We decided to go back when it started getting dark"

"Ahh, fair enough"

"So yeah, that was it really..."

Remus' fist clenched when he heard him conveniently miss out the bit when he kissed her. In Remus' mind the lesson seemed to drag on. Finally the bell rang, he gathered all his things and rushed out of the class. Lily ran after him. He'd hoped he could have gotten away quick enough, but she caught up.

"Come on Remus, you said you'd tell me what was wrong" she said holding onto his arm. He sighed and nodded.

"Come on then"

He pulled her off through the castle until they were in a corridor which was completely deserted.

"Right, you've got to promise me you tell a single soul!"

Lily nodded; "of course"

Pandora wandered around looking for something to do. She knew Lily was talking to Remus, and she didn't particularly want to hang around with Sirius after last night, and she knew Severus would be with him Slytherin friends. She was wandering down the corridor leading to the entrance court when someone shouted her. She spun round, James was jogging over to her, Sirius-less.

"Hey, can I talk to you a minute?"

"No Sirius?"

"He got asked to stay behind, uh, you're good friends with Lily aren't you"

"You know I am, and I'm not putting in a good word for you, I've done that enough"

He sighed; "I thought if maybe she could see that I've changed"

"...How have you changed exactly?"

"Well, I'm thinking about it"

Pandora grabbed his shoulders; "I can tell you now, until you put that damn snitch away, stop tormenting people and maybe not be so big-headed once in a while she might see you for a nice guy"

"...Gee, thanks"

"Sorry, tough love James. You've just got to stop being so immature. She's not impressed by the things you think she's impressed by"

They both started walking.

"So, what IS she impressed with?"

"Not you for sure! You big-headed creep!"

Just then a gang of Slytherins walked in front of them. Severus was stood at the back, a smug look on his now he had a gang to back him up. Avery and Mulciber were stood at the front, arms crossed and smug grins on their faces.

"Get lost before I hex the lot of you" James said glaring.

"Oh no, please don't hex us! There's only five of us! We're no match for you!" Avery mocked before they all began laughing. Mulciber gave Avery a high-five.

"Calm down James, let them make the first move" Pandora murmured.

"Say Macmillan, since when did hang out with such pathetic bullies?" Snape asked, trying to sound clever in front of his new friends.

"I could say the same for you Snape. You complain Lily won't talk to you then you go hang out with this...Scum? And since when did you call me by my last name? You've changed"

Avery began laughing; "oh no, has your poor little boyfriend changed? Boo-hoo, go cry to your little Gryffindor friends, Snape's too good to hang out with you, you filthy half-blood!"

Before he could begin laughing he was launched backwards by a jet of yellow sparks. James looked furious, his wand now drawn on Mulciber. The Slytherins all drew their wands. A few people who had been milling about crowded round. Just then there was a familiar voice.

"What's going on? Let me see..."

Sirius popped through the crowd, noticed his two best friends were in a glaring duel with the Slytherins and jumped in.

"What's going on?" he asked James.

"That little shit called Panda a filthy half-blood"

Sirius' face dropped; "I'll kill you!"

Suddenly all wands were lowered and the majority of them joined in a fist fight. It lasted a few moments until everyone but two were on the floor. James had Mulciber in a headlock, who had his legs wrapped around Sirius' neck, who was pulling the hair of two other Slytherin boys, Avery was still catatonic not far from where the others were. Snape and Pandora had their wands drawn on each other.

"Kill her Snape! Go on!" Mulciber cheered before spluttering as James grip round his neck tightened.

"Het him Panda! Teach that slimy git a lesson!" James nearly shouted. Pandora shook her head and put her wand back in her pocket.

"Your call Severus, where do your loyalties lie?"

Snape looked extremely torn, his hand was shaking slightly, and he kept letting his aim drop before straightening it. He had the Slytherins shouting at him to kill her, James and Sirius threatening to kill him if he touched her, and Pandora looking at him judgingly. Out of the corner of his eye someone came down the corridor. It was Lily, she looked absolutely horrified at the sight.

"WHAT is going on here?" a loud Scottish voice shouted. McGonagall stormed into view. She went to go yank the people on the floor up; Lily turned to walk away.

"Lily! It's not what it looks like!" Severus shouted. He went to run after her but McGonagall grabbed his shoulder tightly.

"Not so fast, you're coming with them. You too Macmillan"

They were all taken to Dumbledores office where Slughorn and Flitwick appeared not long after.

"This lot were brawling on the floor, and young Snape here had his wand drawn on Miss Macmillan" McGonagall quickly summarised.

"Talk to them in turn, see which stories match up" Slughorn suggested.

"Good idea Horace"

The Slytherins went with Slughorn, Sirius & James went with McGonagall and Pandora followed Flitwick.

"I never thought you'd be involved in something like this Pandora, what happened?" Flitwick asked, his voice sounded extremely disappointed.

"I was just walking with James, then the Slytherins interrupted and began taunting James. Then Avery called me, a filthy half-blood and James hexed him. Sirius turned up and jumped in, they all began fighting, leaving me and Snape, then I gave him the chance to either hex me or stand up to his friends, then McGonagall turned up"

Flitwick nodded; "very good"

They went back to Dumbledores office. McGonagall was there with James and Sirius. Not long after Slughorn and the Slytherins came into the office. The three teachers went and conferred with Dumbledore the stories they'd been told.

"We all agree these punishments are fair; the Gryffindors and the Slytherins will receive three hours detention, except you Severus, only one hour for you" Dumbledore said. The Slytherins began complaining.

"Why does he only get one hour? And what about Macmillan? Doesn't she get any punishment?"

"Severus will only receive one hour because unlike you he did not join in the fight. And Pandora, as far as we can see didn't do anything wrong. James & Sirius, as noble as your actions were, they were the wrong actions to take. As for you four, you should be ashamed of yourselves!"

The Slytherins shrugged.

"Off you go"

Everyone trudged out of the office and headed off to their next lesson. The Slytherins ran off in front, Snape wandered slowly to wait for Pandora; they had Care of Magical Creatures. She said bye to Sirius and James and wandered off down to the grounds.

"Pandora wait, I'm really, so, so sorry!"

Pandora shrugged as Snape walked next to her trying to explain.

"It's not me you have to apologise to Snape. If you want Lily to be your friend you're going the completely wrong way about it"

Pandora walked off leaving Snape stood thinking.


	6. Chapter 6  New Generation

**NEW GENERATION**

Sirius was in the kitchen helping Molly make dinner as Remus, Arthur and the children cleaned the hallway of Doxys.

"Now Ginny doesn't really like peas at the moment, and don't put too many potatoes on her plate, stick a few on Ron's, he's a growing boy"

Sirius smiled as Molly bossed him about. He felt like he was part of a real family.

"Is Ginny a picky eater?"

"As much as any teenage girl"

"Oh. Isn't Hermione joining us today?"

"She'll be here in time for dinner this evening. Oh, don't put any gravy on Ginnys plate, you'll never get it right, she has to do it herself. Honestly, pain in my backside she is sometimes. The boys will eat anything and everything, but not Ginny"

Sirius laughed; "she'll grow out of it"

"Dear I hope so"

Finally dinner was served. All the Weasley boys tucked in straight away, stuffing the food down. Sirius noticed Ginny pick at her food before tucking in.

"So have you gotten far with the Doxys this morning?" Molly asked. The boys began saying things whilst stuffing more food into their mouths.

"We've gotten half the hallway done. A couple of extra hands and we'll get it all done, well, as much as the house will let us" Remus said.

"We'll help you after we've done the washing up" Molly replied. Just then there was a loud crack outside the kitchen door. Tonks came bursting through brandishing an opened letter.

"She replied! Pandora! She replied!"

Everyone stopped eating; Sirius and Remus jumped up. As Remus was closer she passed him the letter. Sirius rushed round to the other side of the table. Everyone had forgotten about the about the meal Molly and Sirius had lovingly prepared, and waited for the letter to be read out.

"Ms Tonks. I'd be glad to meet you and Professor Dumbledore this Sunday. However, transport will be needed to collect me from the Ministry as I'm not familiar with the meeting point. I shall arrive no later than 10:30. Kind regards; Pandora Macmillan" Remus read aloud.

"She's coming here?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"No, we're meeting her some place secret, Dumbledore decided. If she joins the order you'll see her"

"I hope she does! I really want to meet her!"

It was silent for a few moments.

"Anyway everyone, finish your dinner. Tonks dear, would you like something to eat?"

"No, I'm fine thank you Molly. I ate before I arrived"

Everyone finished eating before returning to their jobs. Tonks and Sirius helped get rid of the remaining Doxys. It took them all until tea-time when Hermione arrived. Before eating Molly made Ron and Fred take her things up to the room Ginny was staying in.

"Lovely to see you dear" Molly said pulling Hermione into a very tight hug. Hermione forced a smile, finding it a little difficult to do anything as the hug was cutting off her air supply. Molly let go, Hermione managed to take in a deep breath without Molly noticing.

"George, shuffle the plates, make space for Hermione, have you eaten dear?"

Hermione shook her head; "no, it was quite a long journey"

George moved every plate a little to the left to Hermione had space to sit. Fred and Ron came back downstairs.

"You staying forever? Your trunk is amazingly heavy!" Fred said, still gasping for breath, sitting at his place. Hermione shrugged.

"I've got a few extra books and things, I'm all ready for term..."

Sirius and Remus came into the kitchen, brushing dust off their clothes.

"Who just dropped something heavy upstairs? Showered Remus and I with dust!" Sirius said, straightening his jacket out. Ron and Fred looked at the floor.

"They did, Hermiones here" George said pointing at his brothers. Instead of scolding the boys Sirius went over to Hermione and took her hand.

"It's lovely to have you here" he said before shaking it formally. She smiled.

"Thank you for having me"

"It's absolutely no trouble. The more the merrier"

"Any more and the house will be overflowing with people" Remus laughed before shaking Hermiones hand too. Everyone took their seats and Molly dished out the food. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about Pandora so conversation was about general observations.

It was several days until conversation turned back to Pandora. Tonks had turned up early Sunday morning to meet Dumbledore.

"Who wants to come pick her up? I don't really have any means of transportation myself"

"I would" Sirius sighed. Tonks nodded.

"I will, it just so happens the Ministry needs me in that area" Arthur said after he swallowed his fried eggs.

"Brilliant! I can't wait!"

Hermione nudged Ron; "what's going on?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. It's some old friend of Sirius and Remus. They found her and are trying to induct her into the Order. Only Tonks is doing all the legwork. They think it'll be weird for them to contact her after such a long time. Ask them about her, they're totally in love with her"

Hermione nodded and continued eating her breakfast. After everyone who needed to leave left, Hermione brought up Pandora.

"Who is she?"

Sirius smiled, the same look in his eyes as whenever he spoke about James; "she was one of our best friends at school, she really just fit in with us. A Ravenclaw, really smart girl, really good fun, and she put up with our antics, well, mine and James' antics, Remus was too much of a good boy"

"So what happened?"

He shrugged; "she just left. Not long after Hogwarts; she said she had things she wanted to do, places to see and didn't want to spend what could have been the rest of her life fighting evil. She said she'd come back if after so long the way wasn't resolved or if we asked to see her. So...None of us thought to ask her to come back and the war ended quite quickly"

Hermione smiled; "so, can't wait to see her?"

"Exactly, we've seen pictures, she looks so like she did, want to see?"

"Oh please"

Sirius grinned and went to the dresser. Just then Remus strolled in.

"Morning all"

"Hey, we're telling Hermione about Panda"

He smiled; "is there anyone we haven't told?"

"Probably a few...Harry"

Remus sat next to Hermione, Sirius went and stood behind her.

"This is her on our last Christmas. James' family had a party, there she is"

"This is her in Moscow, um...Six years ago? Tonks said she thinks she's still got that dog" Remus said pointing at the German Shepherd in the picture. Hermione 'aww'ed. Remus and Sirius talked Hermione through the pictures.

"I can't believe you haven't heard from her in so long"

"To be honest we had completely forgot about her"

"Aww, will she be coming here?"

"We don't know, Tonks and Dumbledore have gone to meet her"

"Fair enough. Where did all this come from anyway? I mean, you said you'd forgotten about her"

"Oh, Tonks was reading about The Weird Sisters lead singer having a dramatic break-up and it was her he broke up with"

"Oh right..."

It went silent, Molly came back into the kitchen.

"Come on you two, we have Doxys to dispose of"

Hermione and Ron followed her out of the kitchen. Remus got up and went to get a drink.

"Tonks gone then?"

Sirius nodded and began putting the pictures away.

"I hope she joins. It'd be nice to see her after all this time... I wonder if she remembers the past as much as we do"

"Maybe... By the looks of it she's had a pretty busy life"

"All we can do is wait really"

They looked at the clock, it was ten am.

That evening they still hadn't heard anything. Molly was rushing the children through dinner as the Order was waiting to have a meeting.

"C'mon mum, let us sit in!" Fred moaned.

"No, now come on, hurry up"

They all finished and trudged upstairs. Five minutes later members began arriving. Kingsley, Mundungus, Alastor...The last to arrive was Snape.

"No we're all here we can get to business-"

"-Any news from Tonks and Dumbledore?" Sirius interrupted. Alastor rolled his eyes.

"No. Now as I was saying..."

The meeting went on for a while longer than usual; Sirius was a little restless, hoping any minute Pandora would burst through the door. She never did. The meeting ended and everyone left. Remus gave Sirius' shoulder a little squeeze of reassurance before leaving himself.

"Chin up dear, it is late, maybe she'll come tomorrow" Molly said cleaning up some of the mess left.

"Yeah, no news is good news" Arthur smiled. Sirius forced a smile.

"I suppose...I'm off to bed"

He trudged off up to bed. The squeaks of the old wood and stomps of his feet could be heard from the kitchen all the way up to Sirius' room. Molly and Arthur sighed and looked at each other.

"Come on dear, let's get to bed ourselves"

Molly nodded; "just a sec"

She'd just finished putting some plates away when silently, somehow, Tonks rushed into the kitchen.

"She said she'll join!" she hissed. Both Weasleys grinned broadly.

"Oh that's marvellous!"

"I know, she'll come tomorrow. She's so lovely, and so pretty! Don't tell Remus or Sirius, it's a surprise"

"This is wonderful... But what took so long?" Arthur asked.

"Well, Dumbledore wanted to test her loyalty and then we spent the day talking. I told her about Sirius and Lupin, she told me about her life. She can't wait to see them again. She feels so bad for not keeping in touch"

"What time will she be arriving?"

"Dinner, I'm going to go meet her"

"Oh lovely"

"Anyway, I'd better get home"

Tonks grinned and skipped out of the kitchen, only bumping into a table on her way out. Luckily it didn't make much noise.


	7. Chapter 7  New Generation

**NEW GENERATION**

"There's a lot of food here Molly, are we expecting guests?" Remus asked.

"Yes we are. Ron dear, can you set the table for eleven please?"

"Eleven? ...Yes mum"

"Sorry dear, you're getting in the way" Molly said to Remus who was just stood in front of everything she wanted; "can you see if Sirius will get up from the living room?"

Remus nodded; "of course"

He went up to the living room where Sirius was sat reading a book.

"Come on, cheer up"

Sirius said nothing.

"I think Tonks will be coming to dinner, you can ask her what happened"

"I'm just not in the mood for anything"

Tonks crept into the kitchen.

"Molly, where are they?"

Molly grinned; "is she here?"

Tonks nodded.

"They're in the living room"

Tonks crept back out of the kitchen, up to the Hallway where Pandora was stood looking confoundedly at the things that were there. She had long wavy black hair that nearly reached the small of her back. She wore a short black skirt, black knee-high boots, a red and black shirt and a black trench coat.

"They're in here" Tonks whispered, pulling her to a door. Tonks winked, Pandora went in silently. Sirius and Remus had their backs turned to her, she grinned. They were both arguing about whether Sirius should join everyone for dinner.

"I'm not going! I don't want to see anyone" Sirius sighed.

"Sirius-"

"-You are such an anti-social git!"

They both spun round; Pandora smiled at them.

"HOLY FUCK!"

Pandora laughed and went to meet Remus in a hug.

"I can't believe you're here" he said squeezing her tightly.

"I know, it's been much too long. I'm sorry"

He let go so Sirius could hug her. Most of the children had appeared at the door to see what Sirius had swore so loudly about.

"You're not leaving us again" Sirius said hugging her even tighter. She laughed and hugged him back just as hard.

"I've missed you all so much"

When they stopped hugging she turned round to a doorway crammed full of people.

"Oh wow, running an orphanage?"

Sirius laughed; "no, these are mainly the Weasleys; Ron, Ginny, Fred and George. And this is Hermione... A bit like a younger you. Molly Weasley is in the kitchen, Arthur is at work, and Tonks you've met"

Pandora waved; "hello"

"They know all about you. Come on, smells like dinner's ready" Remus said, steering her through the crowd of children. They went down to the kitchen; Molly instantly stopped what she was doing and pulled her into a suffocating hug.

"Absolutely wonderful to meet you dear. I'm Molly Weasley, we've all heard so much about you. I hope you like spaghetti"

She dropped Pandora back on her feet and ushered her to the seat at the top of the table. She patted her shoulders before allowing everyone else into the kitchen. Sirius and Remus sat on either side of her. Everyone was finally sat, Arthur suddenly apparated into the kitchen and sat in the remaining seat.

"Hello all, has she arrived?"

"I believe you're Arthur" Pandora said. Arthur smiled.

"Pleased to meet you, when did you arrive?"

"About five minutes ago"

"Tuck in everyone" Molly announced. Everyone began helping themselves to spaghetti and bolognese. Sirius plated up Pandora some spaghetti; Remus added some bolognese.

"Um, thank you boys"

They both smiled and served themselves some food. It was silent for a few moments before someone decided to speak. It was Ron.

"So what have you been doing since Hogwarts?"

Pandora let out a chuckle; "have you got a spare few hours?"

No one said anything, they all just stared at her intently. She stared back, alarmed by the stares.

"Ok then... Um, well, travelling mainly-"

"-Where have you been?" Ginny cut in.

"Uh... Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Austria, Greece, Romania, Belarus...That was the, oh no, and Estonia. Anyway, that was the first three years. I lived in each country for about three months"

"So you moved across Europe sort of...Anti-Clockwise?" Hermione worked out. Pandora nodded.

"Exactly. Then I came back back to England for a while. After the war ended I went to Eastern Russia. Stayed there for half a year, met someone and travelled around China, Japan and Thailand. That was a year. Went to Australia for five months, New Zealand for ten. We broke up, I came back to England, well, Wales, that's where I met Myron. Though we didn't actually date for...Three months. Then I've been wherever he has for the past six years"

"But wait, they played at Hogwarts last Christmas, were you there?" Fred asked. She shook her head.

"My friend was ill in Budapest, I went to look after her"

"Oh..."

"So that was the eighteen years of my life summed up in a minute or two"

"What did you do whilst travelling?" Ginny asked.

"Learning mainly. The best way to learn is by doing. The worst thing about a lot of schools is that they're run by incompetent bureaucrats who can only get you through their tests, but when it comes to the test of life, you'll fail. That's why you're lucky you go to Hogwarts, Dumbledore prefers you to have experience at everything-"

"-But we fear the Ministry are trying to interfere with the education at Hogwarts"

Tonks sighed. Arthur, Sirius and Remus nodded.

"Well, the sooner you get out the better I believe. I loved school, but the teachers can't teach you experience, only you can learn that"

Hermione was nodding intently; "I completely agree!"

Ron chuckled to himself, before karma intervened, making him choke on his spaghetti.

"So what about you lot?"

Everyone looked at each other, wondering who should go first.

"Well, I work in the Ministry of Magic, in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. It's fascinating. Did you spend much time in the muggle world yourself?"

"On and off... In Asia and, Germany and Greece we were in muggle communities.

Everywhere else there was an exclusive magic community. What do you do at work?"

"Take charms off muggle artefacts mainly, and modifying the memories of muggles who were affected"

"Interesting, and you Molly?"

"Just a simple housewife m'dear. It's a great relief in term-time I'll say, don't have upwards of four messy and devious children to clean up after"

"Upwards of four? How many?"

"Seven. Bill, the eldest works for Gringotts in Egypt. Charlie the second eldest works in Romania with dragons-"

"-Really? I visited the dragons whilst in Romania, it's an amazing place"

"It is. Then there's Percy-"

Arthur coughed, everyone else knew it was due to the friction between the two.

"-He works at the Ministry, nearly Fudge's right-hand man"

"Ah, doing quite well?"

"I guess so..."

Pandora noted the sudden tension and moved on; "Fred, George... Who's who?"

The twins grinned; "I'm Fred, this is George"

"We're trying to become entrepreneurs"

"But mum doesn't share our passion"

Molly shook her head.

"We're in our final year of Hogwarts when we go back"

"Nice, so what about you three?"

"We're in the same year" Ron said pointing at Hermione; "and we're Harry Potters best friends. We just really get into whatever trouble he's in normally"

Pandora laughed; "so, not the voice of reason?"

"All the time! I've lost count of the number of times I've told Harry not to do something" Hermione said.

"Rebellious like his father then?"

"Exactly like James, only, James only ever got detention...Never really fought off Voldermort three times in his school year" Sirius said.

"Three times! Wow..."

"The only time he didn't, he was learning the truth about myself and Pettigrew"

"Been busy huh?"

"You have no idea! Wait until you meet him!"

"When will that be?"

"Uh..."

It went silent.

"We don't know... Dumbledore's trying to keep him out of things at the moment, to try and protect him" Remus said.

"Oh alright...So...Ginny was it?"

Ginny smiled; "I'm a year younger than Ron, but I tend to hang out with them a bit"

"Nice..."

They all made general conversation through dinner. No one moved from the table except Molly who went round collecting plates.

"So do you have any pictures?" Ginny asked.

"I have a whole load! You can't travel the world and not take pictures. They're in my apartment"

"You have an apartment already?" Remus asked.

"It's one of the places Myron and I lived at, he said I can stay there whenever I want, he never uses it"

"So you're still on good terms?"

"Well...Ish...He 'forgave' me because of all the inspiration I gave him. That and I have three weeks until I find a new place"

"HERE!" Sirius shouted. He bit his lip straight after, not meaning to shout. Pandora smiled.

"It's a little full up already isn't it?"

"You can stay with me if you like" Remus smiled. Pandora nodded.

"Ok"

"So can we see the pictures?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"Ginny!" Molly scolded. Pandora smiled.

"It's fine, uh, does someone want to help me get them? There's quite a lot"

"I shall" Remus said standing up.

"Me too" Tonks grinned.

"We shall be back in ten minutes then"

Everyone got up and went to the door to see the three of them off. As soon as they left they all emigrated to the living room, to get good seats, leaving space for her to sit, in the middle of the sofa.


	8. Chapter 8  New Generation

**NEW GENERATION**

Pandora, Remus and Tonks were taking the five minute journey to Pandoras flat.

"So how're you liking everyone?" Remus asked.

"They all seem lovely. Nice bunch of kids there"

"They're brilliant"

"So where's the dog?" Tonks asked.

"Oh he's back home in Kraków. It was too short notice for me to bring him. He'll arrive when I have a fixed residence"

"What's he called?"

"Padfoot"

Remus grinned; "you should tell Sirius"

"I shall"

They arrived at a quite posh apartment building.

"This looks amazing. I'm not sure you'll enjoy living in my shabby little house" Remus said. Pandora squeezed his shoulder.

"I don't care Remus. You could be the richest or poorest man on Earth. I'm just glad to be with you and Sirius again"

Remus smiled; "ok...Do you want to move in tomorrow?"

"Sure"

They went into the apartment, the lounge was full of boxes, all full of things.

"Wow, you have a lot of stuff" Tonks said looking round.

"Yeah, this is 13 years of travelling. Um, those boxes"

She went over to some boxes, there were seven.

"I'll carry three" Remus said pulling his wand out. He charmed all the boxes so they were weightless. He picked up three, Tonks and Pandora picked up two. They made idle talk all the way back to Grimauld Place. Sirius let them in.

"How many boxes?"

"I have a lot of memories!"

"We're in the living room, come on"

They went into the living room, everyone was sat, eagerly waiting.

"We left space for you" Fred said patting the space between him and George.

"Lovely, thank you"

She went and sat in the space, setting the boxes down in front of her.

"Which one says Hogwarts?"

George picked on up; "this"

"Oh can you be a darling and hold it? And put things back as you found them? I'm trusting you"

He grinned; "of course"

Behind Pandora, Fred glared at his brother. Pandora pulled an album out of the box; "this is from our first year"

Everyone sat around, looking at photos and memorabilia from Pandoras travels. As it got late Molly begrudgingly left to make dinner.

"Oh Sirius, this is my little puppy, Padfoot"

Sirius grinned and took the picture; "aww, he doesn't look like me"

"I know, but I love German Shepherds"

"I guess...So is this a new me? Trying to replace me?"

"I knew you'd say that! Yes! I was trying to replace you"

"You cow..."

Everyone laughed.

"So this is the Christmas I spent in Budapest. It was my only trip to Hungary. Isn't it beautiful?"

"It's so beautiful, but I've seen things with more beauty" Fred sighed. George scowled; Sirius winked at Pandora.

"You know, I think we should leave this until your mum returns, I don't want her missing out"

The twins and Ginny groaned.

"Lovely idea. Fred, George, go help your mother. The quicker she's done the quicker we'll be back" Arthur said. They both sighed and nodded.

"Yes dad"

They left. Ron, Hermione and Ginny went off to do their own thing.

"Can I talk to you two?" Pandora asked. Sirius nodded.

"Sure, come on"

He, Pandora and Remus went upstairs to Sirius' room.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Remus asked. She suddenly pulled them both into a tight hug.

"I've missed you so much! I can't believe it's been so long. You have to tell me everything! What happened with Severus?"

Sirius and Remus shared concerned glances.

"Well, he joined the Death Eaters, like we all knew he would. And he was basically Voldemorts go-to-guy. But he lost faith and joined the Order not long before the Potters were killed, and he turned spy for us" Remus said. Pandora nodded.

"Wow...How did he take Lily's death?"

"No idea, I doubt he took it well though... He's been working at Hogwarts ever since. Potions master and head of Slytherin"

"Ah...Didn't you work there?"

"Yes, Defence Against The Dark Arts. He still hates me, hated me even more because that's the job he wants. But he's now Dumbledores right-hand man. And is a spy for the Order again"

"He's in the Order? When's the next meeting?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Will he be here?"

"No idea..."

"He's not same guy Panda, he's changed"

Pandora shrugged; "it'd just be nice to see him again"

It went silent. Pandora looked around the room.

"Oh God, I've just remembered, I'm busy tonight" Remus sighed.

"We can find a bed for you" Sirius said. Pandora turned to look at them.

"I have an apartment"

"No, we can't have you staying alone, stay here"

Pandora went to argue but Sirius covered her mouth.

"You're staying"

Pandora nodded; "I'm staying"

"Good"

After dinner everyone sat in the living room again. This time Sirius and Remus sat on either side of Pandora. The twins sat at her feet like trusty pets. There wasn't much to reminisce over, so they were finished before Remus had to leave. George beat Fred to the space next to Pandora. Everyone began questioning her again, it was mainly Hermione asking her questions on what she'd learnt. At one point they were engaged in a discussion on Charms. During it, George leant closer to Pandora, trying to make Fred jealous.

"Ooh, can I have a drink?" Pandora asked. Fred jumped up.

"I'll get it! What would you like?"

"Um, just water please"

He ran out of the room.

"I think someone has a crush on you" Sirius whispered.

"What, apart from you?"

Sirius laughed; "is it that obvious?"

"It's always been obvious. Anyway, you mean the twins?"

"They seem infatuated"

Fred returned with a huge grin on his face and a glass of water in his hand.

"Here you go! Water"

Pandora smiled and took it; "thank you, you're such a darling"

He giggled and sat back at her feet. Sirius chuckled to himself and elbowed Pandora.

They all stayed up quite late. Molly sent the kids to bed at eleven, she and Arthur followed not long after; Tonks had left quite a while before. Sirius and Pandora went down to the kitchen to break open a bottle of whiskey.

"You know, I've had no action since I left Hogwarts. The closest I got was when I nearly got a Dementors kiss two years ago"

"Wow really? A catch like you? The only reason you didn't get any action in Hogwarts is because everyone thought we were going out"

"We should have just gone out, at least then we'd have gotten some"

Pandora laughed; "but what about James? He was your life-partner"

Sirius laughed; "but I needed some female attention"

"You got some"

"You're the only girl I kissed...I feel quite pathetic"

Pandora laughed; "aww, it's not your fault, I am actually amazed by that. I'm sure you'd have found a girl if you weren't locked up..."

They talked drunkenly until they ran out of whiskey.

"When the bottle's empty, it's time to go to bed"

Pandora giggled; "I haven't drank this much in such a long time...Where am I sleeping?"

"Um...Oh yeah...Just stay in my bed"

"Ok"

They both stumbled upstairs to Sirius' room.

"I love that you wear waist-coats, it makes you look quite posh" Pandora said as Sirius tried to take his jacket and waist-coat off. He grinned.

"Thanks...You look gorgeous in that by the way"

She smiled and sat next to him; "thank you"

He pulled her into a tight hug. They both pulled away slightly, looking awkwardly at each other; almost like they had 20 years ago.

"Anyway, come on, bedtime" Pandora said pulling away. They each stripped down to their underwear and crawled into bed.

"You're covered in tattoos! When did you get them?" Pandora asked, stroking a finger up his chest. He grinned.

"In prison mainly. I saw you had a sneaky one on your back, let's look"

She turned round. Going up her spine from the small of her back were four animal prints. A wolfs paw-print at the bottom, a stags hoof-print above that, a dogs paw-print above that, and a birds foot-print on the top. Sirius gasped.

"It's our marks!"

"I know, this is how much I loved you all"

"What were you again?"

"Merlins beard Sirius! How dare you forget!"

"I'm so sorry, it's been too long. Just tell me! Please"

"I was a Hawk"

"Oh yeah! I remember as a joke you kidnapped Peter!"

"He's a creep. It's one of the only times I could get one over on him"

"You were so cool"

"I am so cool"

"Yes, yes"

He pulled her into a hug. Pandora grinned and squeezed him tightly, Sirius began stroking her hair.

"It smells so nice"

She giggled; "thank you"

They pulled away slightly.

"I can't believe it's been so long...I feel like we're fifteen again" Sirius mumbled. Pandora nodded.

"I know"

They looked into each others' eyes, not noticing their faces drawing closer. Their lips finally met in a very innocent manner, before their hands began grabbing at each other passionately. Their kisses got rougher. Sirius trapped her in his arms, Pandora grabbed his face in one hand and grabbed a fistful of his hair in the other. They rolled about on the bed, locked in a passionate session of kisses.

The next morning they woke up, entangled in each others limbs. They both had throbbing headaches and no real recollection of the previous nights events.

"Ugh, my head hurts" Sirius groaned, sitting up. Pandora groaned and sat up too.

"Was it a good night? It had better have been, my head hurts!"

Sirius chuckled; "I can remember some things"

He winked at her, Pandora sighed.

"Oh dear, what happened?"

He draped an arm over her shoulders; "well. You, me...Lost in the throws of passion..."

"We kissed?"

"All night!"

"...Just kissed?"

"Yes. Unfortunately"

Pandora hit his chest; "stop it"

"Sorry...Is this as far as we're going?"

She paused; "I don't know...I do know it's too soon"

He nodded; "I understand"

They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments before Sirius shuffled to the end of the bed.

"Shall we get up then?"

Pandora nodded and shuffled to the end of the bed. They silently got dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen. Molly was the only one up.

"Good morning you two. Good night? Heard you making a racket downstairs" Molly smiled. Sirius and Pandora shared a suspicious glance.

"Um, yeah, just catching up over a bottle of whiskey"

"Polished it off?" she asked, hinting to the empty bottle on the table.

"Yeah, well, had a lot to catch up on"

"Anyway, you want breakfast?"

"Oh, you sit down Molly, I'll cook it, eggs and bacon?"

"Ooh lovely, poached eggs please"

Molly sat at the table.

"Scrambled for me Paddy" Pandora grinned.

"You've always been difficult" Sirius groaned.

"Come sit here love, tell me how you're liking it"

Pandora smiled and sat next to Molly. Sirius began the breakfast, rinsing out the teapot and picking eggshell out of the eggs. He'd just served up Mollys poached eggs when Remus strolled into the kitchen.

"Morning all"

"Morning Remus, joining us for breakfast?" Molly asked.

"Why not, what's on the menu?"

"Bacon, and eggs of your choice" Sirius replied plating up Pandoras eggs.

"Oh, fried please"

"Can do, grab yourself a cup"

Remus went to the dresser, took a cup and saucer and sat opposite to Pandora and Molly. Pandora leant over and poured Remus a cup of tea.

"Have a nice sleep?"

Pandora shrugged; "bit of a headache, drank too much last night"

"Oh dear"

Sirius finally finished the breakfast for the four of them and sat next to Remus. They talked until the children began to appear down in the kitchen.

"You want to come move some things into mine?" Remus asked. Pandora smiled.

"Sure"

"See you later everyone!"

Pandora and Remus waved goodbye to everyone before leaving for Pandoras temporary flat.

"Can't wait to move in with you. Going to be around you guys so much"

"I know, it's great"

"So, you have space for me?"

"Yeah, it's just a study at the moment, but there's nothing in it really...It'd be better utilised by you"

"Oh, nice"

"And it's not far either"

"Come on then you"

She grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind her as she ran to the flat. Remus smiled and tried to keep up.


	9. Chapter 9  Marauders Era

**MARAUDERS ERA**

That evening after their detention, Sirius and James flopped down onto their beds.

"This is bullshit. Detention for beating up those pieces of crap. We should be given a medal!" James groaned. Sirius laughed.

"Tell me about it!"

"You're quiet Mooney, s'up?"

Remus shook his head and turned away from his friends.

"I feel like I did something wrong. But there's nothing I could have done!" Sirius mumbled to James, louder than expected. Remus scoffed. James and Sirius looked over.

"DID Sirius do something?" James asked. Remus turned round.

"Oh no, nothing at all"

Sirius looked at James worriedly.

"What did you do?" James asked. Sirius shrugged.

"Nothing!"

"Yes you did! Don't lie!" Remus shouted, jumping up off the bed sending his books to the floor. Sirius jumped up too.

"What did I do that could have possibly worked you up so much? You've been like this since last night! And..."

Sirius suddenly caught on, he slowly sat on the edge of his bed. Remus nodded.

"Yes! Exactly! You think you're the only one! You think she's yours!"

James wore a look of extreme confusion; "what? What happened?"

Sirius stood up again; "How the fuck was I supposed to know? And I didn't know you were spying on us! You said you could tell us anything, and you haven't! And it's MY fault?"

"You said the same thing! But you conveniently forgot to tell us you snogged her!"

"Snogged who?" James shouted louder than Sirius and Remus were.

"Pandora" Remus growled, glaring at Sirius.

"What? When?"

"Last night, after our swim... And has it occurred to YOU you're not the only person who likes her?" Sirius shouted. Remus growled again.

"It's always about you! You ALWAYS get what you don't, regardless of who you trample over on your way! Well fuck you!"

They'd advanced towards each other, and their foreheads would have touched had James not jumped in the middle.

"Guys please, calm down!" he pleaded.

"Not this time! I'm sick of being Sirius' ...Bitch!"

"It's all coming out now isn't it! What else have you go to say?"

James tried as hard as he could to push them away from each other; "please guys! This is stupid! You're fighting over a girl!"

"She's not just a girl James! She epitomises everything Sirius has wanted and gotten despite everyone else in the world!"

"What are you talking about? When was the last time I got what I wanted! She doesn't even want me! Why do you think she's turned me down so many times?"

"Because you're an arrogant, selfish-"

Remus didn't get to finish his sentence, as James' hold on them both had collapsed and Sirius dived on him. They fell to the floor, Remus hitting his head sharply on the edge of his bed on the way down. They began scrapping on the floor like frustrated children whilst James tried to pull one off the other. Some of the other Gryffindors down in the common room heard the commotion and ran up to the dorm room. Lily instantly tried to intervene as Peter tried to help James pull Sirius off Remus.

"Boys stop it! Stop it now! Otherwise I WILL report you to McGonagall!"

With Peters help James finally managed to separate the fighting boys.

"No need Miss Evans, I saw all I needed to see"

Everyone in the room spun round, Professor McGonagall was stood in the threshold. "I don't know what happened, but it is no excuse to behave like little children! And Mr Black, this is your second fight today! You should be ashamed! And as for you Mr Lupin, this is NOT acceptable behaviour for a prefect! You will ALL follow me to Professor Dumbledores office! Yes that does include you Mr Potter. As for everyone else, do you not have things to be getting on with?"

Everyone silently ran out of the room. Remus and Sirius stood slumped and breathing heavily. They both had a few scratches, bruises were forming and Remus had a small clump of black hair in his hand.

The next morning, Sirius woke up to see Remus' bed empty. He scoffed and began getting ready for the day. Meanwhile, Remus was limping into the Great Hall. Unfortunately for him, the first person he bumped into was Pandora. She gasped at the sight of him.

"What happened?"

He shrugged and tried to walk past her. She grabbed her shoulders and looked straight into his eyes.

"Who did you fight with?"

"No one" he mumbled.

"Yeah, no one..."

She shifted some hair from his face, revealing the bruise forming nicely round his left eye. He flinched and wriggled out of her grip.

"Just leave it"

Before she could grab him again or say anything he hurried down the Hall. Pandora sighed and went to go find a friend. It didn't take too long for her to find out who Remus had fought with. Sirius also limped into the Hall, James not too far behind. Sirius had three long scratches down his face and a small bruise on his jaw. Pandora jumped up and pulled James aside.

"What happened?"

He sighed and looked over at Sirius; "I'm not going to lie. Remus saw you and Sirius kiss the other day, and apparently he really likes you, and is all jealous about the whole thing. Then they both began pretty much just shouting pure abuse at each other before fighting"

"Oh God what have I done?"

"Don't feel bad, you weren't to know..."

"But if I could have just kept my slutty self away from both of them they'd both still-"

"-Don't say that! At all! Remus is just a little bitter Sirius got there first I guess..."

"But, I don't think I see Sirius that way. At least, not as boyfriend material. The kiss genuinely was a mistake, just one of those heat of the moment things. And I was really looking forward to going to the dance with Remus...I don't think he wants to speak to me..."

"Don't worry, I'll try to do a bit of meddling, and Lily might too"

Pandora sighed and looked at her feet. To her surprise, James gave her a hug. They weren't particularly close, but suddenly he was one of her closest friends.

"I'll see you later" she mumbled before going back to her table to grab her bag.

Luckily her first lesson was with Hufflepuff; but second lesson was Transifguration with Gryffindor. McGonagall had rearranged some of the class to accommodate Sirius and Remus' feud. And after hearing she was involved, had relocated Pandora to sit next to Lily's friend Mary. Throughout the lesson she glanced round; Sirius and Remus both had angry scowls on their face, James looked constantly flustered. After that lesson everyone ran out. Pandora walked as quick as she could up to the Great Hall, hoping for a word with Remus. She was nearly only a few feet from him when someone grabbed her arm and dragged her away. She looked up, it was Severus. When they were away from everyone he began talking.

"I'm so, so, so sorry about yesterday! Please forgive me! you have no idea what was running through my head! I feel awful! You and Lily are my only real friends and I just feel like I've messed everything up!"

He stopped for breath; Pandora looked at him sympathetically.

"I suppose...I understand, I just...Why do you feel you need lots of friends?"

He shrugged; "it's not fun being hated, and, well, they're the only people who'll give me the time of day"

"Well...I do forgive you, and I'll try to put a word in with Lily, but, you really are pushing your luck! Eventually you're going have to choose them or her"

"It's her! Every time!"

She put her hands on his shoulders; "I know that, but you're not showing her that!"

"I don't want her to know!"

"Just, at least show her you care; you're taking ten steps backwards by befriending them"

He sighed and looked at his feet; "I hate it when you're right"

Pandora managed a smile; "come on, let's find her"

They went back to the Hall to see if they could find Lily. She was nowhere to be seen. Severus sighed and squeezed Pandoras arm.

"I'll see her later, this matter is too complicated to deal with now..."

"Yeah, I get you...Um, I'll see YOU later yeah?"

"Umm...Sure?"

She smiled and ran over in Remus' direction. He was slowly walking out of the Hall.

"Remus wait, please, I need to talk to you"

"Can't talk, I have Potions"

She sighed; "don't lie, I know you have a free period, and so do I. PLEASE talk to me, this needs to get sorted"

"Nothing needs to be sorted because nothing is wrong"

"You were fighting like animals with Sirius because of a kiss! A meaningless kiss! Please, just, let's talk"

"James told you?"

"This needs sorting out Remus, and, just avoiding it won't help"

He sighed and adjusted his bag strap; "...Fine"

They walked in an awkward silence outside to the Quiddich pitch. It was completely empty so they could have a private conversation without the risk of a single person overhearing. Remus was very cold towards Pandora.

"So what do you have to say?"

Pandora shook her head; "stop being a git Remus, I'm in the middle of this! You're fighting over me, and I don't get why. I'm really, nothing special! There are much prettier girls here, more fun ones, more-"

"-Slow down! This isn't about looks, and if it was, you know you're beautiful right? You're the most fun friend I have that doesn't get me in trouble, you're amazing, you're, funny, intelligent, and Sirius knows it too! So, don't try to make me stop liking you"

Pandora somehow managed to hide her smile; "but, I just can't believe you're fighting over me! Your friendship should mean so much more than me! And...If I wanted to date Sirius, don't you think I would have by now? James said you were angry that he always gets what he wants, but, he doesn't! I just want you to know, that, if I did want a boyfriend now...Uh...You'd be the first guy I come to"

Remus' face suddenly glowed bright pink; "you mean..."

"It's just that, right now, every thing's so complicated, and, I don't want to date you and have Sirius feel bad, or date Sirius and have you feel bad, I, I can't really win..."

Remus sighed again; "...I never even thought about you"

"I just want you to understand..."

"I do"

"Good...Friends?"

He smiled; "of course"

She pulled him into a tight hug; "promise me you'll make up with Sirius"

"...Ok"

She pulled away and stood up; "come on, Sirius has a free period, we need to go make you two best mates again"

"So soon?"

"As soon as possible!"

"...Fine"

She pulled him up and dragged him from the pitch; "so where would he be?"

"...Probably in the common room"

As they walked up to the castle Remus slowly tried to slip his hand into hers. Strangely, she let him, and squeezed his hand softly.

"Don't get used to it"

He smiled and squeezed her hand back.

* * *

**I don't like to leave little notes like this, but, I really need your help! You can ultimately decide the outcome of this story! So, please go to my profile, there's a poll at the top, please do it. Thank you!**


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